Itâs a date.
UCLA! jessie fleming x reader
summary: reader starts her first semester at UCLA and meets bruins midfielder, jessie fleming.
content: fluff, short one-shot. author has no knowledge of the American education system.
The first day of university was always going to be hard. New people, new campus, new lecturers and new classes all together. Maybe it was the fact youâd never been this far from home before that made it worse.Â
UCLA was your dream school. Quite literally. You remeber looking at the university website back when you where in middle school and imagining yourself there: kicking a ball in the oval, studying in a library, laps in the big pools. the feeling of actually being here was⌠overwhelming.Â
Like all eighteen year olds do, you had launched yourself into this thing head first: packed bags, kissed your dog goodbye and hopped on the plane. And like most eighteen year olds , you where now struck with the intensity of your actions.Â
Here you where, miles from home, no connections in the state, standing outside the lecture theatre for your first class. So yes, overwhelming would be the word of choice.Â
You looked down at your timetable for what seemed to be the hundredth time in the last minute, checking and triple checking that you had got the room right.Â
âEnvironmental Studies: Spheres 101â. The name of the course seemed to taunt you at you stared at it blankly.Â
Leave it to you to go to one of the most prestigious sports schools in the world, (doing very minimal sport yourself) and end up doing a course all about what? Water, earth, wind and fire?
You knew it was more important than that of course. You picked environmental engineering for a reason: because you cared about that sort of stuff!Â
You took a long breath readying to walk in when-
âOh shit I am so sorry! God I was not looking where I was going!â The thump in your shoulder didnât knock you quite as off balance as the thick Canadian accent. You froze for a moment, not knowing whether to be pissed at this strangerâs clumsiness or charmed but the voice that reminded you of home. Your eyes flashed up to meet the source of the voice and decided to be charmed.Â
Her eyes where the first thing you noticed: large and brown andâŚ. well charming you suposed. Every other part of the girls face fell neatly into place behind those eyes: perfect, warm and adorned with a lopsided and slightly guilty smile.Â
It was then that you realised you hadnât responded.Â
âOh no donât worry. I was distracted myselfâ you rushed out, words melding into a lump as they rushed to get passed your lips. It was worth it as you watched the girls guilt melt away into an easier grin.Â
âAnother Canadian! I thought I was going to be alone here you knowâ she laughed âI donât think I would have survivedâ.Â
You nod eagerly, feeling the other girls  relief. âGod same! Iâm already off kilter over hereâ
âEh. weâll muddle throughâ she grinned back giving an animated wink before looking back at the door you where still loitering before.Â
âMight need toâŚâ she trailed off at motioned with her chin to the door.Â
âRight right yes! I donât want to be late to learn about the spheres of the environmentâ you drawled sarcastically. The girl rolled her eyes in agreement.Â
âRight!? when I saw that on my timetable I couldnât believe it! I swear I learned this in 9th gradeâ.Â
âAmericanâs eh?â you tut with a playful smile. God you hoped none of the resident americans would over hear you.Â
The girl (you realised you didnât yet know her name) laughed loudly, her teeth flashing handsomely (Looking at her you realised that âhandsomeâ was a pretty accurate diagnosis: broad shoulders, a freakishly athletic build, sharp jawline. Yes, handsome was the word). Together you walked forward into the lecture hall, thankfully not late before parting ways: her going to sit next to a few other athletic looking girls with tight ponytails, and you going to sit near the front (curse your poor eyesight).Â
~
To be brutally honest, after that little interaction, you almost completely forgot about the handsome canadian girl with charming eyes from your environmental engineering course. Almost. You saw her about a few times: in the distance on the playing field, walking around campus. But you hadnât really talked to her since that first class at the beginning of semester. Everytime you got into class she was already there, sitting next to the Bruins girls, pen in hand, with deadly focus.Â
You reasoned that it would be impolite to interrupt her, it would be nosy to try join her little group and it would be downright stalkerish to try track her down across campus.Â
Not to mention the university work that was flooding in⌠it was not stopping for anything, thatâs for sure, definitely not your strange hang up over a girl you had one interaction with.Â
Your reasoning for this preoccupation was simply that you missed home: Canada seemed so far away especially as the weather only got warmer. This girl was simply a reminder that the faraway moose land was real! Additionally, maybe your brain got confused: a kind interaction plus the familiar Canadian accent equals weird unreasonable attachment.Â
You shook your head and tried to refocus your eyes in the screen in front of you. You had been staring at the blank document you so long that your head had started to ache and the hot chocolate you bought before you sat down was now definitely cold. The cafe was one of those tiny ones with maybe three indoor tables and a booming espresso machine that took up most of the counter space by the cash register and drowned out the soft music echoing from the speakers.Â
You had found it during the second week of semester and now frequented it most afternoons to try and crank out as many assignments as possible. Routine was important, you must understand that.Â
You squeezed your eyes shut and rubbed your temple before being rudely startled by a tap of the shoulder.Â
âJeezus! give a girl some warning please!â you snapped before looking up at the offender. Brown eyes stared back at you filled with an amused glint.Â
âWe gotta stop meeting like thisâ she laughed. The same laugh that showed off her handsome features and warm glow.Â
âOh hey! Itâs um⌠you!â it wasnât meant to sound like a stutter but it came out that way anyways.Â
âJessieâ she smiled softly, catching your fumble âJessie Fleming? We have some lectures together?âÂ
âYes no! I remember sorry. I just didnât catch your nameâ you rambled, feeling suddenly very foolish. She patted your shoulder to pull you out of the spiral.Â
âI know. Iâm just messingâ she sat down in the seat opposite you with a sigh.Â
It was then that you really looked at her. She looked very much the same as she had the first time apart from a few key things: her hair was shorter (sitting just above her shoulders whereas before it had hung in a long plat down her back) and her left eye seemed strangely swollen and purple.Â
âUm⌠get into a fight Fleming?â you asked, indicating to her, now obvious, black eye. To your surprise she laughed!
âOh this old thing! No just a bad tackle during soccer practiceâ she grinned, poking the swollen lid with a dramatic wince.Â
âSoccer⌠OH! Oh it makes sense nowâ you lean back in your chair and look at her like you had only just noticed her properly.Â
âFleming! 21! bruins midfielder! God I never made the connection!â you laughed, feeling stupid. Maybe if you had payed more attention to the sport at your SPORT university, you would have found out her name sooner.Â
âOh hush. Itâs really nothingâ she muttered looking embarrassed.Â
âNo, shut up Fleming. No it isnât! I heard a girl in the library talking about your goal in a match a few weeks ago! Boy I know jack shit about sport but I know it was impressiveâ you hissed back eagerly.Â
âNo really-â
âTake the damn compliment Jessieâ
âFine! Thank youâ she smiled awkwardly with a role of her eyes âIt was a pretty good goal I guessâ
You smiled and watched her for a long moment as she settled into the seat fully. Your eyes followed her perfect nose, flickered up to her eyebrows before coming to rest at her lips. How could someone look that good so effortlessly?
âStaring is rudeâ she stated bluntly, as her lips curled into a smirk. You looked away with a jerk, cheeks flaming.Â
âI- I was not!â
âOkayâŚâ
âI wasnât staring! You soccer types, always so big headed!â you mumble, crossing your arms across your chest. You felt childish: of course you had been staring! God how silly that this girl, Jessie, thought you could hold back from staring at her! Youâre only human after all.Â
âI-â Jessie started to speak but cut herself off, her mouth hanging open slightly.Â
âYes?â
âI might be out of play for a few weeks. Concussion protocols and all that but⌠well stop me if this is too forward but, Iâd love for you to come to a game? One of my games I meanâ her question ended in a rush before she leaned back from the table with big curious eyes. You stared back, dumbfounded. It took a shake of your head to get you to respond.Â
âYou want me to come to a bruins game?â
âUhh. Yes?â
âYou know I donât know anything about soccer?â
âI did assume that, yes.â
âBut you want me there?â
âYes.â her tone was soft but firm, determined. âI want you to come to a game please. To watch me play? Or we can watch it together if Iâm still out for injury?â
You laugh and clap a hand over your mouth.Â
âAre you asking me on a date Jessie Fleming?â you spit out, feeling suddenly emboldened by the other girls flustered expression. Jessieâs cheeks only became redder at your sudden inquiry.Â
âYes please?â came her hopeful squeak.Â
You grinned and leaned over the table, placing a soft kiss on her cheek, just under her bruised eye, before sitting back in one swift movement.Â
âOk. But youâre going to have to let me wear your jersey 21. Oh, and explain the offside rule.â
Jessie groaned, but her pink cheeks gave her away.Â
âFine. Itâs a date.âÂ
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